Leicester Tigers experience in France against Racing 92 last October will stand them in good stead for their trip across The Channel to face Castres on Sunday.

According to centre Matt Smith, Tigers learned some valuable lessons about European refereeing during their 22-18 defeat at the Stade Yves Du Manoir in round one of the Champions Cup.

And they have spoken about what to expect – and how to approach certain aspects of the game – for their latest test in France.

“When we played away at Racing, we found that the referees did their job very differently to the Premiership,” said Smith.

“The breakdown was different and players can get away with a lot more, it seems, in the Champions Cup.

“Even if you can see what is going on as players, it can be hard to change things because it is so engrained in us how we do things.

“To change things quickly is hard but at least we will be a lot more aware of it this time than when we played Racing.”

While the vagaries of the breakdown can always be hard to pin-point, Tigers know exactly how big a physical challenge they will face against a Castres side that have been in great form in the domestic Top 14.